Looking to the long term
Qualcomm, the provider of much of the technology found in 3G mobile phone connectivity, announced it is sampling the industry's first chipsets for dual-carrier HSPA+ and multi-mode 3G/LTE.
LTE is the most widely backed technology behind the next generation of mobile technology, logically referred to as 4G. It promises to dramatically increase the bandwidth available to mobile devices and thus facilitate a far greater range of data-intensive interactions between mobile devices and the cloud.
Three chipsets have been announced. The MDM8220 solution is the first to support DC-HSPA+, which is an evolution of 3G, but not quite 4G. The MDM920 and the MDM9600 chipsets are the industry's first multi-mode 3G/LTE solutions.
Qualcomm is positioning these chipsets as significant progress towards the global mass-market enablement of DC-HSPA+ and LTE and, as such, the news must represent a further blow to the backers of rival 4G technology WiMAX, which include Intel.
To emphasise the widespread support for LTE, which already has the public backing of the EU, Qualcomm was quick to trot out a sizable supporting cast. "As a leader in LTE infrastructure deployment with a focus on driving a healthy ecosystem for LTE, we appreciate the versatility of Qualcomm's multi-mode 3G/LTE and dual-carrier HSPA+ products," said Tommi Uitto, head of Wireless Access product management at Nokia Siemens Networks.
There were also endorsements from Japan EMOBILE, Telstra Wireless, Huawei Technologies, the LG Electronics Mobile Handset R&D Center 4G Development Team, Novatel Wireless, Sierra Wireless and ZTE Corp. But, perhaps unsurprisingly, nothing from Clearwire.
